San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich recently hinted that center Jakob Poeltl is the team’s only guaranteed starter. But in each of Spurs’ three preseason games so far, beloved Duke basketball product Tre Jones has served as the starting point guard — and apparently not because of injuries to others. at his post.
That includes Sunday night when Jones and the Spurs, now 0-3 in preseason after their 111-97 loss, hosted the New Orleans Pelicans (3-0), with another NBA Blue Devil in the former Jones’ teammate, Zion Williamson. (The New Orleans roster’s other Blue Devil, Brandon Ingram, sits out with a sore toe.)
Jones finished with nine points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal and two turnovers in 19 minutes on the floor.
Meanwhile, Williamson had eight points, nine rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block and four turnovers in 24 minutes.
In his first two seasons in the league, Tre Jones made 12 starts in 106 career games. Last season, the former Duke starting point guard of two years, who became No. 41 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, played in 69 games, averaging 6.0 points, 3, 4 assists and just 0.7 turnovers in 16.6 minutes per outing.
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The Spurs, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, have two more preseason bouts before they start their regular season Oct. 19 in a home game against the Charlotte Hornets.
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We’ll have to wait and see if Tre Jones gets the go-ahead to go. For now, however, he seems to be the favorite.
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